Angry Orchard Hard Cider Review

Angry Orchard Hard Cider Review

Angry Orchard is becoming a household name in the hard cider community, but does it’s hard cider justify their fame? Find out here…

There’s no question that Angry Orchard came on to the scene ‘guns a’ blazin’ looking to leave their mark in the hard apple cider industry like a celebrity hand print on the sidewalk outside of Hollywood’s Chinese Theater, and leave their mark they did.

They’ve grown to become one of the most well-known hard cider brands in America. And we respect that. If not for them making the waves they did to help make hard cider as much of an option to drink as draft, hard cider production would be more of a hobby for a lot of us and less of a dream business for small to mid-size producers.

Personally, we believe their fame is well-deserved. They stuck their neck out to market a product where there was little resemblance of a market to begin with.

Not only did Angry Orchard seize the opportunity to penetrate the market, their selections in general are solid. Of course, we’re no fan of every drink. No one is. Hard cider is as unique as the consumers personality, taste and preference.

Below we review three of their most popular selections, starting with…

** Angry Orchard Crisp Apple **

By far their most popular selection, we can see why people enjoy it as much as they do.

It’s clean, fruity, sweet and has a slight kick of “crisp” that the brewers nailed down to a “T”. If not for this it would be ‘too’ sweet for most peoples taste (including our own), so they did a good job taking the edge off a bit so it’s not too sweet, not too tangy, but just right.

If you’ve ever taken a bite out of a ripe honeycrisp apple, this is a similar experience, except your drinking it. The aroma is pleasant on the nose and is certainly a crowd pleaser that caters to the general public.

As a result it doesn’t ruffle any feathers or step on any toes because it appeals to the masses. That’s not a bad thing if you’re looking for a fairly generic, by-the-numbers yet “tasty” hard apple cider offering.

** Angry Orchard Green Apple **

One reviewer on ratebeer.com said it’s his personal favorite of all the flavors offered at Angry Orchard. It has a good balance of tart from the green apples masking the slightly bitter fermentation.

Another reviewer says it pours like Chardonnay with a big rise and fall champagne style head with strands of small bubbles within.

Not surprisingly the aroma smells of caramel green apple suckers but dies down after a minute or so after pour. It’s a touch sweet smelling overall but mostly plain and pretty standard compared to similar green apple offerings.

The flavor itself is a bit weird because it competes with the green apple candy character that leaves one a bit put off. It’s sweet and is a notch or two lower than ‘apple soda’. I enjoy the light carbonation and sharpness of the cider.

Finally, another reviewer said it pours golden with a light tart green apple aroma. Flavor is fruity. Not awful. Not the best. Pretty standard fare.

** Angry Orchard Apple Ginger **

According the label on their bottle for this particular drink, it says, “sweet, yet slightly tart taste with a distinct ginger aroma. The result is a smooth, refreshing cider that goes down easy.”

From the moment you twist the cap off the bottle you will begin to smell the apple from quite a distance that resembles apple juice. Oddly enough there is almost no hint of a ginger aroma to be found considering it’s the secondary ingredient here.

It has a distinctive flavor to it with a slight bitterness from ginger, slight tartness. You taste more of the apple then ginger but it feels like it’s there to ‘mellow it out’ to make it not as sweet as most apple ciders are.

As for the alcohol content, although it’s at 5% you taste almost none of it. A single bottle alone isn’t going to give you the buzz you’d come to expect with “hard” cider, which is unfortunate because overall this is a pretty decent offering.

** Conclusion **

Hate em’ or love ’em, Angry Orchard’s business acumen, marketing skills and brewing talent is up there with the best. That’s why Blake’s believes in quality, freshness and creativity.

We strive to make sure you’re getting an experience unlike anything you might have tried in the past that will make you jump out of your seat, do the hokey pokey and boogie on the dance floor.

Here’s what one of our very own patrons had to say about Blake’s Hard Cider Co:

Sarah Ashley Locke from Facebook said, “Finally opened my autumn Cranberry wine. It’s the best wine I have ever had! Thanks for producing such amazing products”

Our beef with Sarah is, “What took you so long?!”

Next up we Jean Fecteau who said, “I attended a bridal shower at Blake’s Winery today and I am already planning to return soon for a Sunday brunch. The atmosphere is charming, the food was delicious, and the service was excellent. We even purchased some salsa and a couple bottles of wine before we left. I especially liked the Autumn Cranberry Wine.”

Lastly we have Sergio Hernandez said, “SOOOOO you guys came out here last weekend for the Munster, IN ale fest and I tried El Chavo, which was freaking delicious.” And you are ‘freakin’ awesome’. Thank you Sergio.

If you’re in the area come on over and stop on by at 17985 Armada Center Rd. Armada, MI 48005 , give us a call at 586-784-9463 or shoot us an email at info@blakefarms.com if you have any questions or inquiries.